The present invention relates to a toilet flushing and cleaning device. Specifically, the present device uses high pressure water sprays and gravity instead of the siphon of conventional toilets and, in one embodiment, includes a blower for removing toilet odor through the existing drain waste vent.
There are dozens of patents directed to reducing the amount of water for flushing and rinsing toilets and removing the noxious odors. However, a common factor to all these patents is that they use mechanisms too intricate and procedures too elaborate to accomplish their goal. Moreover, these systems do not appeal to manufacturers because they are typically not cost-effective in mass production. In short, these systems are not practical.
Consequently, the modern commode is far from efficient. Millions of gallons of fresh potable water are literally thrown out the drain as a vehicle to carry human waste. This creates not only an environmental loss of one of our most vital resources but, in addition, exacts an expensive price for the rising cost of water that escalates even more with the sewerage treatment it eventually requires.
Most modem toilets depend only on the potential energy of a volume of water for flushing and cleaning. The still water laying in the tank has been dispossessed of its complimentary energy: pressure. The potential energy of the water, by virtue of its volume and weight alone, has to be converted to a certain level of kinetic energy so the siphon will carry out the waste and clean the bowl. Some other toilets use a raised tank to increase the potential energy and maintain some of its original flush pressure for better efficiency but this increases the costs. Also, there are tank-less high pressure flush systems that utilize the kinetic energy of water and even jet nozzles in conjunction with siphons which need large quantities of water to operate successfully. Consequently, these systems are often are more expensive, complicated, and noisy.
The removal of noxious odors is another challenge tackled in a similar way. However, the proposed solutions are often so impractical that manufacturers are left with no other alternative than to use the current exhaust fan system. While effective at dispersing odor throughout a bathroom, a central exhaust fan does nothing to remove the odor from a bathroom altogether.
For example, one typical solution is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,576 which removes odors from the toilet bowl using a fan but does not vent the odors from the fan housing. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,275 discloses a system for removing odor from the toilet bowl and delivering it to the sewage drain downstream of the toilet water trap. However, the system is very complicated and very costly.
Therefore, it can be seen that there is a need in the art for a water saving flushing system that uses the pressure of a water source to clean and flush the toilet. Additionally, there is a need in the art for a system for conducting odors from a toilet through the existing drain waste vent piping.
The present invention is a toilet flushing and cleaning device for a toilet, including a toilet bowl, connected to a water source delivering water under pressure to the toilet. In one optional embodiment, a funnel having an upper opening substantially sealed to the toilet bowl and a lower opening is disposed inside the toilet bowl. In a further embodiment, a pivotable bucket is disposed over the lower opening of the funnel. In such an embodiment, the pivotable bucket has substantially continuous walls and an opening. The optional bucket is described in further detail below.
The device includes a reservoir. The reservoir optionally includes an air inlet with a check valve that prevents air from exiting the reservoir through the air inlet when the air pressure inside the reservoir is greater than ambient and allows air to enter the reservoir through the air inlet when the air pressure inside the reservoir is less than or equal to ambient.
Disposed inside the reservoir is a cylinder having a base and a top. The cylinder includes at least one drain hole at its base and at least one discharge hole at its top. The cylinder is in fluid communication with the water source. A piston, slidable between the cylinder base and the cylinder top, is disposed in the cylinder. In an embodiment including a bucket, the piston is attached to one side of the bucket such that when the piston is at the base of the cylinder, the bucket opening is oriented vertically upward and when the piston is at the top of the cylinder, the bucket is pivoted approximately ninety degrees. A counterweight may be provided on the bucket to bias the bucket into the vertically upwards orientation.
A mixer tube is disposed inside the reservoir. The mixer tube has a lower end, with a water entrance hole, and an upper end, with an air entrance hole. The mixer tube fluidly communicates with spray nozzles. In one embodiment of the present invention, the spray nozzles are directed into the toilet bowl. In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the spray nozzles are disposed around the upper opening of the funnel and directed into the funnel. In yet another alternate embodiment, the spray nozzles are directed into the optional funnel and at least one nozzle is directed into the optional bucket.
A flush valve is disposed between the water source and the cylinder. When the flush valve is opened, water from the water source flows into the cylinder and drives the piston from the base to the top of the cylinder. In the optional embodiment including a bucket, the motion of the piston pivots the bucket approximately ninety degrees. The piston forces water and air through the discharge hole in the cylinder to increase the air pressure inside said reservoir. Consequently, air is forced into the air entrance hole in the mixer tube. Simultaneously, a portion of the water flows out the drain hole at the base of the cylinder, an into the water entrance hole in the mixer tube. The air and water mix in the mixer tube and flow to the spray nozzles. When the flush valve is closed, the piston slides from the top of the cylinder to the base of the cylinder thereby lowering the air pressure inside the reservoir and allowing air to flow into the reservoir through the air inlet. In an optional embodiment, the piston is forced downward by the counterweight and the weight of the water inside the reservoir creates a partial vacuum to cause the check valve to open. Water remaining in the reservoir drains into the bucket for the next use.
In an embodiment including a funnel, odor may be removed from the funnel by providing a blower disposed between the funnel and the toilet bowl to draw air from inside the funnel and direct the air into the toilet bowl. This air may then flow through the drain waste vent.
It is an object of the invention to provide a water saving flushing system that uses the pressure of a water source to clean and flush the toilet. In a further optional embodiment of the present invention, another object of the invention is to provide a device for conducting odors from a toilet through the existing drain waste vent piping.